Easy-cleanable protective coatings: a breakthrough solution with energy curable technology

Special effect and functional coatings are adding performance and value in various market sectors including packaging, automotive, appliances, consumer goods, teletronics and various other industrial finish applications making use of plastic materials (1). With the increasing use of tactile touch interface, the need for easy to clean (E2C), anti fingerprint (AFP, free of fingerprint) as well as superhydrophobic surfaces is growing and posing a challenge to designers and coating formulators. As a consequence, investigation of these new functional surfaces has gained increasing interest in the technical and scientific literature (2, 3, 4, 5).

Current technology typically makes use of hydrocarbon, fluorine or silicone based coatings in order to allow easier removal of fingerprints and other contaminants and deposits (ink), but these coatings do not sufficiently inhibit initial transfer of fingerprints. Comparatively, silicones or mineral oils additives can be incorporated into the coating and migrate at the surface where they are picked up by the finger, thereby limiting the deposit of lipids from the finger onto the substrate. While providing some level of performance, these technologies share the same main shortcoming, namely that the consumption of the low surface energy agent through use causes the E2C or AFP functionality to disappear with time.